‘Catholic Bowl’ coming Sept. 21
CHARLOTTE — It’s game-on for sports rivalries all around the country now that schools are back in session. And a new local rivalry between Christ the King High School in Huntersville and Bishop McGuinness High School in Kernersville has principals and school chaplains making friendly wagers – betting that both schools will strive for faith-filled discipleship.
Now that Christ the King High School is part of the N.C. High School Athletic Association, the two schools will play each other in five contests this fall. So far, they have played each other in varsity boys soccer, and junior varsity and varsity girls volleyball.
Whichever school wins at least three out of five games is considered the winner of the contest.
The Crusaders and Villains will meet on the gridiron Sept. 21 in Kernersville for a Friday night game under the lights. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m.
Christ the King High School’s principal, Dr. Carl Semmler, and Bishop McGuinness High School’s principal, Tracy Shaw, are betting on a best-out-of-five match-up between their schools. The losing principal has to wear the T-shirt of the winning school for an entire week.
“We are so excited to be part of the NCHSAA and are honored to be competing with Bishop McGuinness Catholic High School,” says Semmler. “McGuinness has a high quality athletic program and well-respected scholar athletes.
“We are looking forward to these competitions as a fellow Catholic school. Mrs. Shaw is a wonderful principal and she and I are having a lot of fun boasting about our respective schools. These games are a great chance for fans from both schools to get to know each other and have a few laughs,” he explains.
Tracy Shaw says her school is excited to be playing Christ the King this year.
“We are hoping this will create a new tradition for us,” she says. “We are dubbing the football game the ‘Catholic Bowl.’ It is so nice to have another Catholic high school the same size as ours which we can play against in this arena.
“We hope it creates a greater sense of community among not only our schools, but the diocese in general. Father Christian Cook, our chaplain, has invited the chaplain from Christ the King High School (Father Paul McNulty) and some other area priests to come, so we are excited to have not just the school communities involved but the Church community as well,” Shaw says.
The schools’ two chaplains are apparently enjoying the new rivalry as well.
“I am very excited about the building (of) athletic rivalries between our Catholic high schools,” says Father Cook. “When I began seminary in Philadelphia, I was amazed at how intense the Catholic high school football rivalries were in that region. Growing up a Catholic in the South, we were never exposed to such an idea, so it’s very exciting to be a part of building them here in the Diocese of Charlotte.”
Father Cook notes that being a Catholic athlete brings with it a certain perspective on athletic competitions, however. “As Catholics, we should always be wary of creating a ‘cult of the body,’ in that we must resist the idolization of physical perfection, and a ‘victory at all costs’ mentality in sports.”
He points out that Pope Pius XII reminded Catholics the prime objective of sports is to cultivate the dignity and harmony of the human body; therefore, Catholics should care very much about athletic competitions, but for the proper reasons.
“Sport is the school of loyalty, of courage, of fortitude, of resolution and universal brotherhood: all natural virtues, these, but which form for the supernatural virtues a sound foundation, and prepare man to carry, without weakness, the weight of the greatest responsibilities,” he wrote.
“We should compete hard against one another, in the Catholic tradition of sports. But at the end of the battle, both schools should bond like brother and sister Catholics as we endeavor to live the great responsibilities of our faith together,” Father Cook says.
The chaplains also have a friendly wager on the football game: the loser must wear the winning team’s apparel (a T-shirt over their clerics) during a subsequent school day.
“Christ the King has been improving in all its athletics over the past few years, showing that it can compete against well-established programs such as those at Bishop McGuinness,” Father McNulty says. “I’ve told the students that while we shouldn’t become known for our athletics over our Catholicism, we should indeed strive to succeed in them and seek to give God glory in body, mind and spirit, through our competitions.”
“I can assure you that I do not want to have to wear a CTK T-shirt on campus at Bishop,” Father Cook says. “So I need the Villains to win one for the Gipper! Our Lady of Victory, pray for us!”
— SueAnn Howell, Senior reporter